Saint Paul of Thebes, whose life of seclusion and penance inspired the monastic movement in its early years, is remembered by the Catholic Church on January 15.

Paul, who was born in around 230, had a good education both religiously and secularly, but at the age of 15, he lost both of his parents. The notorious persecution of the Church by Roman Emperor Decius took place in 250 when he executed clergy members and made common people worship idols as a sign of their allegiance. Torture and the threat of death were employed by the state to force believers to offer sacrifices to pagan gods.

During the Decian persecution, Paul fled into hiding but later learned that a family member was planning to turn him into the authorities. The youth withdrew to a secluded area of the desert, where he came across a sizable, deserted cave that had been previously used as a factory for producing fake coins. He learned that he could exist solely on spring water and he would get half a loaf of bread which a raven gave him daily.

Driven by fate into the forest, Paul discovered that he cherished the life of prayer and austerity that it afforded. As a result, despite living well into the period of the Church's legalization and acceptance by the Roman Empire, he never went back to the outer world. His lifestyle later served as an inspiration to Catholics who were looking for a closer bond with God through seclusion from the outside world and spiritual discipline.

Anthony of Egypt, who was born in the Cairo area in 251, was among the most devout individuals. He also lived to a great age, having chosen as a young man to live in the desert as a sign of his dedication to God. Paul of Thebes is known to history because Anthony, around 342, had a dream of the older hermit's presence and proceeded to find him.

The previous hermit had been inexplicably endowed with a similar knowledge concerning Anthony. So even though they had never met, they greeted one other by name when he showed up to Paul's cave. Paul inquired about the state of the Roman Empire and whether paganism was still practiced after being cut off from it for about a century. He described to Anthony how, for the previous sixty years, a bird had brought him a daily ration of bread—a means of life that was likewise bestowed upon the prophet Elijah of the Old Testament.

Following 113 years, the majority of which were spent in solitary devotion, Paul realized that his time on earth was running out. He requested that Anthony go back to his own hermitage and get a cloak that the younger monk had received from the bishop St. Athanasius. Anthony had never mentioned the courageously orthodox bishop or the coat in issue, and he had not even been born when Paul had originally escaped into the desert. Astonished, Anthony honored Paul and proceeded to carry out his wish.

Anthony saw a vision of the glorified soul of St. Paul of Thebes soaring toward Heaven during the journey back. Upon his return to Paul's cave, he covered Paul's body with Athanasius' cloak, honored him, and took him outside. According to Saint Jerome's "Life of St. Paul the First Hermit," two lions showed up, showed respect, and excavated a grave for the saint.

In addition to being revered on the same day by Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Catholic communities, St. Paul of Thebes is also the founder of the Order of Saint Paul the First Hermit, a Catholic monastic order that was established in Hungary in the thirteenth century and is still active today.

Other Saints of the Day
Saint Arnold Jansen
Saint Maximus of Nola
Saint Liewellyn & Gwrnerth
Saint Ceolwulf of Northumbria
Saint Francisco Fernandez de Capillas